BB Video: "Sebastian's Voodoo" - Vote for it, for Cannes!

In today's Boing Boing Video episode, we revisit "Sebastian's Voodoo," a beautiful animated work by UCLA student Joaquin Baldwin.

We're returning to this enchanting, dark, fanciful work today because... drum roll... it has been nominated for a short film award at the Cannes Film Festival, which opens today! It's really exciting to see the work of a young, talented animator like Joaquin get this kind of recognition. I am voting for Joaquin right now, and if you dig his work, I hope you will too.

And after you vote for Joaquin, here's some related reading: New Scientist has an interesting article up today about the "science of voodoo" -- well, more accurately, the science behind people who believe they've been "witched" or cursed, and end up becoming ill or dying because their believe in that "reverse placebo" is so powerful.

I like to remind people that voudun, or "voodoo," is more truthfully a broad, deep, and very misunderstood religious tradition that originates in West Africa. Voudun doesn't really have anything do with sticking pins in dolls, or convincing people you don't like that they have cancer. While ad hominem "witching" does exist, to say this defines voudun is unfair and uninformed.

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Discussion

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#1 posted by yri, May 13, 2009 12:19 PM

I like to remind people that voudun, or "voodoo," is really a broad, deep religious tradition which originates in West Africa and is has very little to do with sticking pins in dolls.

Thanks for adding that; I was all set to jump to the religion's defense. Equating Vodou with pin-stabbed dolls is like equating Christianity with snake-handling.

#2 posted by Sekino, May 13, 2009 4:20 PM

I'm really happy to see it nominated. I remember seeing it on BB last year and it was beautiful, clever and extremely well-done. It absolutely deserves the recognition.

#3 posted by stwee!, May 13, 2009 5:09 PM

Personally I'd rate the next animation in the list, 'Reach' as a better animation.

At the very least, check them all out before voting...

#4 posted by Sekino, May 13, 2009 5:32 PM

@STWEE!

I agree: 'Reach' was also a great short. I did see it on the National Film Board of Canada channel on YouTube.

I still voted for Sebastian's Voodoo in the end, but I guess to some extent, it's a somewhat arbitrary choice :) There was a lot of neat stuff on there!

#5 posted by MrScience, May 13, 2009 6:45 PM

So... what was his motivation for making a doll of himself? That's like creating a powerful DOS rootkit... and defaulting it to attack your own domain.

My theory: he was murdering his family, one by one, and planned to kill himself in the end.

#6 posted by Anonymous, May 13, 2009 9:03 PM

Back when I had a life, I did my Grade 13 chemistry project on the biochemistry of the zombi drug of Haiti, and its close relative in the Fugu fish toxin of Japan. The differences in culture were more interesting than the chemistry, that's for sure.

Also, Voudoun is objectively no stranger than Christianity as a religion. It's hard to see the weirdness in cultural traditions you are embedded in.

Transubstantion, sacred scarves, speaking in tongues, kneeling and bowing symbolically, sacred cows -- it's all crazy if you think about it!